Mike Theiss

Who is Mike Theiss?

Mike Theiss is a National Geographic photographer, on air talent, video producer, professional storm chaser and CEO/Founder of Ultimate Chase Inc. that specializes in Extreme Nature photography. His work has been published in National Geographic magazine numerous times for specializing in Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Lightning, Volcanoes and other rare nature events. Mike started storm chasing in 1986 in Key Largo, Florida and now chases worldwide.

In 2004, Theiss captured one of the highest wind gusts ever recorded on video inside Hurricane Charley with an estimated wind gust over 155 mph in Charlotte Harbor, Florida. The National Hurricane Center used his barometric pressure reading of 942mb inside Hurricane Charley's eye in their final report as the official lowest pressure recorded by a handheld barometer during Charley.

In 2005, Theiss captured the highest storm surge on video during Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Mississippi. This video premiered exclusively on NBC's Today Show where Matt Lauer dubbed Mike's video as the "scariest video" to come out of Katrina. This video is currently being considered for Guinness World Records for the highest storm surge ever caught on camera. Theiss is the co-author of the Amazon "best selling" book titled Hurricane Katrina "Through the eyes of Storm Chasers". A photo of Mike holding onto a sign in Hurricane Katrina's fierce storm surge debuted on the front cover of National Geographic's "Witness to Disaster" book.